NWR: Peated Australian Whisky

[Mahmoud Ali]

I am in Sydney for a very short time and have been given a brief by a whisky club that I am a member of, to bring back a peated Australian single malt. Can anyone on this forum recommend a retailer (or a local distillery for that matter) who has a good selection of Australian whisky.

Cheers ................. Mahmoud.

PS: Here is a bone for the wine lovers in the crowd, I found a bottle of 1968 Kairer Stuhl Cabernet-Shiraz 'Claret' that I bought at auction some years ago. I will open it and report back.

[Chuck]

I don't know much about OZ peated SMWs but know Tasmania is where it's at for SMWs in general. I lot there are doing some pretty special stuff and winning global awards. It must be in the water....

[gwyn]

I am in Sydney for a very short time and have been given a brief by a whisky club that I am a member of, to bring back a peated Australian single malt. Can anyone on this forum recommend a retailer (or a local distillery for that matter) who has a good selection of Australian whisky.

Cheers ................. Mahmoud.

PS: Here is a bone for the wine lovers in the crowd, I found a bottle of 1968 Kairer Stuhl Cabernet-Shiraz 'Claret' that I bought at auction some years ago. I will open it and report back.

Hey Mahmoud,

Black Gate Distillery Peated or Furneaux Distillery Smoky Wedding would both fit the bill I think. They both use Scottish peated malt in the production process through. I <think> Lark Australian Peated is Australian peated malt.

Cheers,

Gwyn

[Mahmoud Ali]

Thanks for the suggestions Gwyn, any idea where I might find Black Gate or Furneaux? A Dan Murphy search show no results.

[A_Steady]

Hellyers Road is in Tassie just near where I live and has been getting good awards. I think you can get some of their range in DM. They have had Peated whiskey in their range but not sure if they are the ones sold in the big chains

[gwyn]

Hey Mahmoud, I'm Melbourne based so unforutnately I don't have a good knowledge of any bricks and mortar stores in Sydney that may have them. Could (can!) certainly help you out if you're venturing down Melbourne way at any stage this trip? There are a number of online options, but I'm not sure how long your visiting for of if you have an easy address for delivery?

[Mahmoud Ali]

Hi gwyn,

Unfortunately I am not heading to Melbourne, just here in Sydney with the in-laws for a short while, so I do have an address in Sydney. If there is a good on-line outlet in Melbourne send me the name and I will give it a look and see if it works.

Thanks ................. Mahmoud.

[phillisc]

Mahmoud,
Nick's wine merchants in Melbourne have a massive Australian Whisky range. Free delivery on orders over $200.
Cheers Craig

[VinoEd]

I quite like Loch Brewery and Distillery. Have purchased a few bottles from them over the last 3 years or so and always enjoyed. They have some unique options and have a peated number available at the moment.

https://lochbrewery.com.au/drink/single-malt ... ian-casks/

Cheers Ed

[gwyn]

Hey Mahmoud,

Here's a couple of options for you:

https://www.blackhearts.com.au/products/2274 ... double-oak

https://theoldbarrelhouse.com.au/shop/austra ... 00ml-57-8/

Both distilleries will also directly sell and ship to you, not sure on delivery times though:

https://www.blackgatedistillery.com/product- ... alt-whisky

https://www.furneauxdistillery.com.au/smoky- ... alt-peated

Good luck and enjoy the rest of your visit!

Cheers,
Gwyn

[Mahmoud Ali]

I thought I should update everyone on what I ended up buying. After a thorough search of what was available (a lot of whiskies were out of stock) I bought a cask strength whisky from Fleurieu Distillery called 'The Jabberwocky'. First off it was peated and not smoked or finished in casks that held peated whiskies. Secondly, it was not a 500 ml bottle as are so many Australian whiskies. The whisky is destined to be served at a whisky club where there could be anywhere from 20 to 25 people so a full bottle was necessary. Besides, I don't particularly like 500 ml bottle and tend to avoid them - unless heavily discounted.

According to the distillery:

"The Jabberwocky is our barrel-ends release. A little peated, a little wild, “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll resonated as a name for us, as it was a favourite read aloud to our boys from the Graham Base illustrated book of the poem. It fascinated us that although the poem was made up of many nonsensical words, together they created a powerful story. This can be reflective of whisky too. Our Jabberwocky is not only comprised of barrel-ends from other releases but also married up with other barrels that didn’t exhibit the typical Fleurieu DNA. Like the nonsense words within the poem, these “black sheep” barrels when combined, created a beautifully balanced whisky with just a hint of heat and smoke. A perfect example of the whole in the end being greater than the sum of its parts."

When I informed one of the Whisky Club organisers the name of the whisky he responded by saying "Just looked up the whisky ... sounds interesting as hell!!"

Thanks for all the help ............... Mahmoud.

PS: The Jabberwocky is no longer listed on the distillery website and seems to be out of stock in many places. I bought the last bottle in the shop.